Iraq suicide bomber kills 9 including 7 policemen in Tikrit

9 people including 7 policemen were killed after the explosion at the government compound

At least 9 people have been killed after a suicide bomber drove a fuel truck laden with explosives into a government compound in Tikrit, Iraq.

The attacker blew up the oil tanker at a building housing government administration offices, according to Reuters news agency.

The bomb exploded at 8:40 local time (5:40 GMT) in the home town of former dictator Saddam Hussein[2], killing and injuring mostly policemen according to the sources.

No groupd has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but some Al Qaeda affiliated groups have carried out similar attacks in recent months in an attempt to destabilise the Shia-dominated government.

Tikrit is located around 160km north of Baghdad and has often been the target of insurgent attacks[3].